Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Support needed from noteholders of Pinnacles Series 9 and 10

The Pinnacle Action Group wishes to write to MAS to investigate into the Pinnacle product that was engineered by Morgan Stanley. The group has consolidated some findings in series 9 and 10 and has identified several questions and they wish to get the regulator (MAS) to investigate.

They need the support from noteholders of the Pinnacle Series 9 and 10 to sign electronically on a letter to be sent to MAS. They like to ask the noteholders to write to pinnacle.action.group@gmail.com with their name and email address.

Obama: Bush government tried to undermine unions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the Bush administration had tried to undermine organized labor and he assured U.S. labor leaders they would always have a "place at the table" under his presidency.

"We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests," Obama said in prepared remarks for a video address to the executive board of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, meeting in Miami. 

Article.


Book launch: How to survive unemployment

My friend, Gilbert Goh is launching his book. He asked me to speak a few words of support. Please attend the book launch, if you are free

Hi Friends
I have written a book entitled "How to survive unemployment" and it will be launched on:

Date:  7 Mar 09 (Sat):
Time:  5.15pm - 6.45pm
Place: Bishan Library Level 2

Please pick up a copy of the autographed book if you are coming. The price per copy is only $11.00. The price at major bookstores will be higher.

Gilbert

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Consider a relief loan for needy workers

Read this article.

MANY businesses are suffering from a severe drop in consumer spending. They are not able to earn enough revenue to pay their wages and other expenses.

These businesses are not able to get the bank credit needed to tide them over until the economy recovers. The banks are reluctant to take the credit risk, even though the Government has agreed to underwrite 80 per cent of any loss.

The Jobs Credit scheme may help these businesses to reduce their operating costs by 5 per cent to 10 per cent, but will not be sufficient to stem the losses. These businesses will then have to retrench their employees.

Many thousands of employees face the prospect of losing their jobs in the near future. The $20.5 billion resilience package will not help them. Job fairs will also not help.

I suggest that a relief loan scheme be introduced. This scheme is to be administered by a government agency and will allow a worker who has suffered a loss or drop in earnings to apply for a loan to cover the shortfall (subject to a monthly cap).

This loan will be subject to an interest rate of 2.5 per cent and can be drawn for a period of up to 24 months. The loan has to be repaid from future earnings or withdrawal from CPF savings.

This is a loan, not an unemployment benefit. It will provide financial relief to affected people who will then not need to rely on credit cards or loan sharks and bear a high interest burden. It will also reduce the bad debt burden from the banking system.

There will be some abuse of this relief loan, but practical measures can be implemented to reduce the abuse. For example, the applicant may be required to sign a statutory declaration and get the endorsement of a responsible community leader.

Some people may not be able to repay the loan, no matter how hard they try. These cases can be investigated at a later date and a portion written off. It can be decided by practical judgment.

I hope that a relief loan scheme can be introduced immediately to alleviate the hardship and suffering of many families. It will also help to maintain a modest level of consumer spending and keep the domestic economy going as best as possible, until the global economy recovers.

Tan Kin Lian

How to make electronic medical records a reality

Read this article.

Use techonology to improve bus information

Some people, especially the elderly, have poor eyesight. They may not be able to see the service number of the bus that is approaching the bus stop, until the bus is close by. By that time, it may be too late to signal for the bus to stop. The passenger will also have to strain the eyes to look out for the number of all the approaching buses.

I suggest that we use technology to solve this problem. The approaching bus can transmit its service number electronically to a display located at the bus stop. This display can display not only the bus number but also the main rout and destination of the bus. It will be a good service to the passengers and may encourage more people to take the bus.

I hope that the bus operators will take up this suggestion. Perhaps the Land Transport Authority can provide the encouragement by paying for the infrastructure cost.

Tan Kin Lian

We made mistakes on the economy

Who is humble enough to admit a mistake? Find out here.